Facilities & Funding Issues Addressed

The Board held two special meetings on October 20th ahead of the regular meeting at 5:30 p.m., convening first at 1:00 p.m. to discuss facilities needs and potential funding sources for those needs. The commissioners then met jointly with the Board of Education at 3:00 p.m. and received an update on the Schools’ Master Facilities Plan and discussed funding options for the plan. The meeting was very productive and everyone is excited to move forward in meeting the capital needs of the Schools while looking out for the taxpayers.

One of the potential facilities funding sources was considered by the commissioners during the 5:30 p.m. regular meeting. With several capital projects on the horizon, the Board voted to direct the Board of Elections to conduct an advisory referendum on the question of whether to levy a local option sales and use tax. The proposed tax is covered under Article 46 of Chapter 105 of the NC General Statutes. The Article 46 tax is a one quarter cent point of sale sales tax that does not apply to unprepared food (i.e. groceries) or gas. (There is no local sales tax on gas purchases). The revenues from the tax, estimated to be an additional $2.2 million annually for Moore County, are not shared with the municipalities and can be allocated for any allowed use by counties. Voters will consider this tax on the March 2016 ballot and if approved, collections would begin July 1, 2016.

While considering funding needs, hopeful that Moore County will cease to get the short end of the stick when it comes to needs unmet, the Board also adopted a resolution requesting the NC General Assembly to abolish the State’s tier ranking system for counties. The Department of Commerce annually ranks counties into Tiers 1-3, with the 40 most economically distressed counties ranked as Tier 1, the next 40 as Tier 2, and the remaining 20 as Tier 3. Incentives through State programs are then distributed based upon tier designation, with Tier 1 counties receiving the greatest benefits and Tier 3 the least.

Moore County is ranked Tier 3, but due to its size and population has distressed areas that are very similar to distressed areas in Tier 1 counties. Distressed areas, regardless of what county they are located in, would benefit from the State’s economic incentives that are currently only available to Tier 1 counties. For this reason, the Board of Commissioners has proposed the abolishment of the current tier system or, in the alternative, a modified system based upon distressed areas rather than county lines.